Coin-controlled mechanism



Aug. 4, 1931. I GRAN 1,817,076

COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed Jan. 15, 1930 78 51 9 c 9/ 70 n f@ @713 60 I a 4 [zzuezzaor 7 K/Zberl 64 6mm Patented Aug. 4, 1931 PATENT; OFFICE ALBERT G. GRAN, OF STORM LAKE, IOWA com-co N'rnoLLnn mncnamsm Application filed January 15, 1930. Serial No. 420,880.

The object of my invention is to provide a coin controlled mechanism of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, which is compact, and reliable and accurate in its operation.

A further object is to provide a coin controlled mechanism having means for engaging the diametrically opposite edges of a coin so that any variations 1n the diameter of the coins may be utilized to throw into or out of operation mechanism for selecting or assorting the genuine coins from counterfeit coins,

, and to provide in connection therewith means for amplifying these variations, whereby the accuracy of the selecting mechanism will be greatly increased.

A further object is to provide a coin controlled mechanism having means for measuring the diameters of the coins for actuating the mechanism for seperating genuine coins from counterfeit coins, and for causing said mechanism to become inactive when washers of the same diameter as a genuine coin are substituted for the genuine coin.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a unit of my improved coin controlled mechanism removed from the casing.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of same with the front plate removed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail, sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged, detail view of the mechanism for causing the coin mechanism to become inoperative when a washer is inserted in the coin passage.

.My improved coin controlled mechanism comprises side plates and 11 spaced apart by a front member 12 and a back member 13. The side plates are secured to the front and back members by suitable bolts or rivets 14. The front and back members are of a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the coin to be inserted.

A portion of the top end is closed by a strip 15 so that a coin receiving slot 16 is provided. Adjacent to the forward end of the strip 15 is a downwardly extending strip 17 which forms a back for the slot 16, the member 12 serving as a front for said slot.

Pivotally mounted-b means of a pivot 18 adjacent to the inner e go of the front member 12 is what I shall term a trap door 19. Said door is designed to be supported normally in a downwardly and rearwardly inclined position, as indicated in Figure 2. The lower end of said door is designed to swing downwardly and forwardly and to rest against a block 20 when at its upper limit of movement.

Pivotally mounted adjacent to the lower end of the block 20 by means of a pivot 21 is a clamping member 22. One end of the pivot member 21 projects through the plate 11 and is provided with a spring 23 for normally retaining the free end of the clamping member 22 in position illustrated in Figure 2. The free end of the said clamping member is provided with a pin 24 projecting through a curved slot 25 in the plate 11. Said slot limits the upward movement of the clamping member. The upper surface of the clam ing member is curved to exactly fit the perip cry of the coin to be inserted.

Supported above and back of the clamping,

member 22 is a clamping lever 26 having its lower end provided with a pin 27 slidably mounted in vertical slots 28 in the side members 10 and 11.

The upper end of the lever 26 is provided with a pin 29 slidably mounted in slots 30 in the plates 11 and 10. Said slots are of such width that a considerable lateral movement of the upper end of the lever is permitted. The forward edge of the lever 26 is provided with a curved notch 31 having the same curvature as the periphery of the coin. Said curved portion 31 terminates in a vertical portion 32 for engaging the back side of the coil, 44: in the manner hereinafter made clear.

Supported adjacent to the outside of the plate 11 is what I shall term a gate actuating lever 33, the upper end of which is connected to the pivot member 29 of the lever 26. The

a mined diameter;

central portion of said lever 33 is pivotally connected to one end of a link 34 which is inclined downwardly and forwardly and has its opposite end pivoted to the plate 11. by a pivot member 35.

. An 0 erating lever 36 1S provlded having one end pivoted to the plate 11 by a pivot- 37. The lever 36 is operatively connected with the link 34 by means of a link 38. A link 39 has one end pivoted to the central portion of the link- 38 and its other end connected to the trap door 19 by means of a pivot member 40. The pivot 40 extends through a slot 41 in the plate 11 in the manner illustrated in Figure 1. A guide 42 is provlded for the free end of the lever 36.

A spring 43 has one end connected to the lever 33 and'the opplosite end to the plate 42' in such a manner t at the levers 26 and 33 are normally retained at their upper limit of movement.

The plate 10 is provided with an openmg 45 located vertically below the clamping member 22 and designed to receive a pivotally mounted gate 46, said gate being provided with outwardly projecting lugs 4 pivotally mounted to lugs 48 projecting outwardly from the plate 10. The upper end of the gate 46 is designed to swing into an opening 49 in the plate 11, so that the gate 46 may be swung to position diagonally across the space between the members 10 and 11 for receiving the coin 44 as it is dropped from the clamp 22 and directing it outwardly through the ofpening 45 to a suitable container outside 0 the plate 10. v

The lower end of the gate 46 is provided with laterally extending lug 50 which projects through an opening 51 in the late 11, and is designed to be engaged by t e lower end of an actuating arm 52 pivotally connected to a lever 53, by means of a pivot 54, so that swinging of the upper end of the arm 52 in a clockwise direction is permitted, as illustrated in Figure 1, causing the lower end of the arm 52 to engage the member 50 and the upper end of the gate 46 to be swung inwardly.

A spring 55 is provided for normally retaining the gate in its open position, as illustrated in Figure'3. A spring 56 is provided having one end attached to the actuating arm 52, and its opposite end to a bracket 57 carried by late 11. The upper end of the arm 52is yie dably supported against a stop block 58, a plate 89 providing means whereby the position of the block 58 may be adjusted, which in turn will adjustthe lateral movement of the arm 52 so that its upwardly extending point '61 may be properly adjusted relative to the downwardly extending point 62 of the member 33, thus providing means whereby the device may be accurately adjusted to accommodate a coin of predeter- Said block 58 is operated the slug to be delivered to forwardly against. the

b means of a rock shaft ed in a bracket-60 secured to the late 11. The rock shaft 59 has a downwardly extending arm 88 entering the said block. One edge of the block 58 is designed to rest against the adjustable plate 89 provided with a slot 90, said slot having a screw,91 so that the position of the block 58 may be adjusted laterally for the purpose hereinafter made clear. An inclined bottom member 66 is provided, the lower end of which terminates in a slug receptacle 67. The upper end of the member 66 is designed to receive coins delivered from the member 22, or through the trap door opening.

Mounted adjacent to the outer face of the plate 10 is a magnet 68 having its pole pieces extending through suitable slots 69 in the said plate 10 and terminating near the trap door 19, so that an iron slug inserted in the slot 16 will be held against furtherdownward movement. Said slug is forced downwardly through the trap door opening by means of a stripper arm 70, one end of which is pivotally connected to the plate 10.

The said stripper arm 70 is provided with a slot 71 for receiving the inner end of the pivot member 72, which connects the link 39 with the link 38. Said pivot pin projects through a suitable slot 73 in the plate 11.

Assuming that an iron slug has been inserted in the slot 16, and that it has been retained opposite the pole pieces of the magnet 68, then the lever 36 is moved downwardly, causing the pin 72 to be lowered through the slot 73, which in turn will cause the stripper bar 70 to be lowered and the coin moved downwardly toward the trap door 19, and at the same time the link 39 causes said trap door 19 to be lowered by the pin 40, and the member 66 and into the slug chamber 67 If a genuine coin is inserted in the slot 16, it will roll on top sition on top of the clamp 22 and into engagement with the edge32 of the member 26. The ,notch portion 31 is normally supported above the coin a slight distance, as indicated in Figure 2.

If the lever 36 is moved downwardly, the gate actuating lever 33 will alsobe moved downwardly through the links 38 and 34, whichin turn will cause the lever 26 to be lowered and the edge of the gage the upper edge of the coil 44 inserted therein. Further downward movement of the lever 26'will cause the coin to roll backwardly over the clamp member 22, which in turn will also be swung downwardly and 23. The diameter of it will engage the edge the coin is such that 32 of the lever 26 and cause the upper end of said lever to be moved rearwardly.

The pin 27 acts as a fulcrum for said lever.

59 rotatively mountaction of the spring ion ies

of the member 19 into ponotch 31 toen- The outward movement of the upper end of the lever. 26 will cause the up r end of the lever 33 to be moved rearwar ly and the lower end of the lever 33 to be moved forwardly. The pivot connection between the link 34 and the lever 33 acts as a fulcrum.

It will be seen, however, that if the free end of the link 34 is swung downwardly, the lower end of the lever 33 will be moved rearwardly in such a manner that if the lever 36 is operated without any coin in the coin passage, the lower end of the lever 33 will be moved in the path of the dotted line A-B, but when a 'coin is in the passage and the lever 36 is moved downwardly, the pointed lower end of the lever 33 will move in the path of the dotted line A-C until the notch 31 engages the coin, at which time the pointed end of the lever 33 will move in the path of the line C-D, whereby the said pointed end of the lever 33 will engage the upper pointed end of the lever 52, causing the said lever 52 to be moved downwardly into engagement with the lug 50, which in turn will cause the gate 46 to be moved inwardly and the coin to be delivered through theopening 45.

To provide means whereby the arm 52 will be retained in an inoperative position in case a washer is inserted in the passage 16 having the same diameter as the genuine coin and the gate46 will be retained in an inoperative position, I have provided the following mechanism: Mounted on the plate 11 is a bracket 74 carrying a pivot pin 75 on which is pivotally mounted a lever 76, one end of the lever 76 having slot 77 for receiving a laterally projecting portion 78 of the rock shaft 59. The other end of the'lever 76 is designed to pivotally support a camplate 79 by means of a pivot 80, the inner edge of the cam plate 79 being provided with laterally projecting lugs 81 and 82. The lug 82 is designed to rest normally within the slot 83 in the plate 11 and to project inwardly into a coin passage 16 and designed to engage the periphery of the coin as it moves to position on top of the clamping member 22. The said lug 82 rests normally adjacent to the near end of the clamping member 22 as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. The downward movement of the coin by the action of the arm 26 would cause the plate 79 to rotate and the lug 81 to engage one face of the coin in such a manner that the upper end of the lever 76 will be moved outwardly, which. in turn will cause the shaft 59 to be rocked, causing the block 58 to be moved toward the member 52, causing said member also to be moved slightly in a clockwise direction as illustrated in Figure 1, so that the upwardly extending pointed member 61 of the arm 52 will be engaged by the downwardly extending pointed member 62 of the arm 33 and anism will cause the washer 84 to be moved downwardly andtheplate79 rotated. The lug 81, however, will enter the opening '85 of said washer and no rocking movement will be imparted to the lever 76, and consequently no movement imparted to the block 58. This permits the arm 52 to remain in such position that the arm 33 will not be brought into operative relation with the arm 52 and no movement of the gate 46 will take place. The

washer will then be delivered to the member 66 and caused to enter the receptacle 67.

Spring 86 is wound on the pivot 80, having one end secured thereto and the opposite end secured to the plate 79. The said spring 86 provides means whereby the plate 79 will be normally retained in the position illustrated in Figure 3. A pin 87 carried by the plate 79 serves to limit the movement of said plate by engaging lower edge of the lever 76.

By this arrangement it will be seen that I have provided means whereby washers or slugs having holes in their center will be re jected.

If a slug of smaller diameter than a genuine coin is inserted in the coin passage, then it will be seen that the pointed end of the lever 33 will not be brought into engagement with the pointed end of the arm 52. The pointed end of the lever 33 moves downwardly and backwardly of said arm 52 and no movement is imparted to the gate 46.

Referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that the notch 31 of the lever 26 is considerably closer to the pivot pin 27 than the pivot pin 29, so that any variation in the diameter of the coins causes an amplifying movement of the pivot pin 29. In the same manner, the pivot connection between the link 34 and the pivot 29 is closer to the pivot 29 than the pointed end of the lever 33, which further I increases the relative movement between the lower end of the lever 33 and the initial movement caused b the variations in the diameters of the co1ns thus provides means whereby the coin controlled mechanism is I very sensitive to any variation in the diameters of the coins, and whereby a slight variation in the diameter from the predetermined diameter will cause the gate 46 to be inoperative and the coin rejected.

In the drawings no casing has been illustrated for the mechanism, said mechanism being designed to be supported in a suitable case, one of the sides of which is spaced from the plate 10, so that a chamber is provided for the genuine coins.

number of these units may be placed side by side in a single casing if so deslred, each unit being designed to operate on coins of different diameters.

I claim as my invention:

1. A coin controlled mechanism includinga coin passage and a by-pass opening for receiving genuine colns, a gate for d1rect1ng genuine COIDS through said opening, a gate Y actuating arm, a hand actuated means adapted to be moved into opera ive relation with said gate actuating arm to-operate said gate, and means controlled by a coin of predetermined diameter for moving said hand actuated means into operative relation with said gate actuating arm.

2. A coin controlled mechanism including a coin passage and a by-pass opening for receiving genuine coins, a gate/for directing genuine coins through said opening, a gate actuating arm for said gate, and hand actuated means adapted to be moved into operative relation with said gate actuating arm including means controlled by a coin of predetermined diameter for moving said hand actuated means into operative relation with said operating arm.

3. A coin controlled mechanism including a coin passage and a by-pass opening for receiving genuine coins, a gate for directinggenuine coins through said opening, a gate actuating. arm, and hand actuated means adapted to be moved into operative relation with said gate actuating arm including motion amplifying devices controlled by a coin of predetermined diameter for moving said hand actuated means into operative relation with said gate actuating arm.

4. A coin controlled mechanism including a frame having a coin passage and a by-pass opening for receivinggenuine coins, a gate for directing genuine coins through. said opening, hand actuated means controlled by a coin moved in operative position and of a predetermined diameter for operating said gate, and means for causing the last said means to become inoperative when washers of said predetermined diameter are inserted in said coin passage.

5. A coin controlled mechanism comprising a frame including a coin passage, a gate for moving a genuine coin out of said passage, means for actuating said gate, movable means for engaging said gate actuating means to operate the same, actuating means for actuating the last said means, and motion amplifying means controlled by a coin while in said passage for moving the movable means into operative relation with said gate actuating means. v

6. A coin controlled mechanism comprismg a frame including a coin passage, a gate for moving a genuine coin out of said passage, means for actuating said gate, movable means for engaging -'said gate actuating means to operate the same, actuating means for actuating the last said means, motion amplifying means controlled by a coin while in said passage for moving the movable means into operative relation with said gate actuating means, and means for adjusting the gate actuating means for coins of various diameters.

:7. A coin controlled mechanism including com passages, a gate for directing a coin from one'passage to the other, means for actuating said gate adapted to be moved into and out, of operative relation with said gate, and motion amplifying means controlled by a coin of predetermined diameter for making operative connection between said gate and its actuatingmember.

8.. A coin controlled mechanism including coin passages, a gate for directing a coin from one passage to the other, means for actuating said gate adapted to be moved into andout of operative relation with said gate, motlon amplifying means controlled by a coin of predetermined diameter for making operative connection between said gate and its actuating member, and means for causing the last said means to become inoperative when washers of said predetermined diameter are placed in operative position.

9. A coin controlled mechanism including a coin passage, a gate fordirecting a coin out of said passage when the gate is in one position of its movement, movable gate 110 tuating means supported normally in an inoperative relation with said gate, and motion amplifying means controlled by a coin of, predetermined diameter for moving said gate actuating means into operative relation with said gate.

Des Moines, Iowa, December 23, 1929.

ALBERT'G. GRAN. 

